Old Houses opposite the Barony Church

Mitchell Library, Glasgow Collection

A lithograph by Allan & Ferguson looking north to Provand's Lordship and along Castle Street, 1848. Clergymen associated with the Cathedral were entitled to a prebend, a portion of the revenue from the Cathedral lands. It is believed that Provand's Lordship was one of the prebendery manses connected with the Cathedral, and was occupied by the lord of the Prebend of Barlanark. The lord of the church estate of Barlanark was also lord of Provan(d), and gave the name to the building.

After the Reformation, the Catholic clergy fled Glasgow and the church lands were redistributed. By 1848 the old manse housed a pub, and it was to become the home of a grocery shop. The lean-to on the side of the house was built to accommodate Glasgow's hangman, when public executions were held in the ruins of the Bishop's Palace in the 1780s. It was subsequently occupied by a barber before it was removed some time before 1900.

There is a public well by the roadside on the extreme right of this picture.

Reference: Mitchell Library GC f914.14353 STU

Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning